Head Coach John Harbaugh
JOHN HARBAUGH: Hey everybody, good seeing you here. Thank you for being here. A couple things to note before we get started. (Defensive Coordinator) Dennard (Wilson) had a personal – a family situation to deal with today, so he was out today in case you didn't see him out there. He will be back tomorrow, expected back tomorrow we should say. (Cornerback Paulson) Adebo was put on IR this morning, short-term IR with a knee issue. Not a long-term knee issue, but one that's going to keep him out for a few weeks, so we made that move. You'll see that – I think you'll see it at four o'clock, actually.
Q: Who ran the defense with Dennard not here?
JOHN HARBAUGH: All the coaches. Yeah, it was a group effort. Same thing with the meetings, they went through the regular routine that we would have. (Inside Linebackers Coach) Frank Bush did the big-picture install, as far as the third down and the red zone stuff – mainly the third down stuff and the new defenses, but Double D (Defensive Pass Coordinator/Secondary Coach Donald D'Alesio) did the red zone and (Defensive Backs Coach) Addison (Lynch) did the third down, which is how we always do it.
Q: (Cornerback) Nikko Reed, what made you you bring him in?
JOHN HARBAUGH: Yeah, just the cornerback depth kind of looking at our situation there with Paulson. At this time of year it's good to be aggressive, especially at that position. There's still guys on the practice squad who won't last on the practice squad probably too much longer, so it was a good get for us.
Q: What's it like when you get a guy from that organization? What's the communication like with your brother?
JOHN HARBAUGH: It's professional, it's not like we talk about it too much. I haven't talked to him yet about it, but I'm sure I may get a call here sometime soon.
Q: Is Nikko here yet?
JOHN HARBAUGH: He's here, yeah, he's here.
Q: Got here just in time to go back out West
JOHN HARBAUGH: Yeah, right, back to LA, yeah. He's logging his frequent flyer miles.
Q: How is (cornerback) Deonte (Banks) doing? We've seen him a couple of times on the side.
JOHN HARBAUGH: Yeah, day-to-day, I would say, is where he's at. We'll see where it goes.
Q: How is Jaxson Dart handling Week 2?
JOHN HARBAUGH: He's been great. I feel like he's had two really good practices, which is pretty normal for him. New game plan, so it's the second week. It's kind of a process for us. It's our first time doing this as a staff together, so we're working through that part of it. Coming off a game, boom – we'll have a new one next week because we'll have a short week next week, so that'll be new for us as well. I'd say we're still kind of working through that, navigating through all that, but it's been really good. The guys have been working super hard. He's a leader as far as that. He conducts a lot of extra meetings and things like that, so it's been good.
Q: How do you approach a short week with your staff? Like the scouting or – what do you do?
JOHN HARBAUGH: We speed up. We condense. We try to do things quicker. We'll take the day off after the game, but we won't get back probably until eight in the morning or something like that, so that'll be the day off. Then we'll game plan right on through as coaches until we get to Wednesday afternoon, and then we'll be doing sort of a walkthrough on Wednesday afternoon and then going from there.
Q: (Wide Receivers Coach) Chad Hall, he was one of the coaches you kept when you came here. What made you do that? What made you switch his room, and what did you see?
JOHN HARBAUGH: Well, I've known Chad professionally since he was playing, actually, but then also as a coach with the Bills. I have a ton of respect for him. I tried to hire him once or twice. I couldn't get him, so I was thrilled that he decided to stay on. The fact that he's back in the wide receiver room was great for us. It was something that he was excited to do. I know he's got aspirations and stuff to do a lot of things, but he's such a great coach. He's a great football coach, great wide receiver coach. Obviously, he played the position, so he brings that to the table. High energy, just really high-level, I guess – demanding? I don't know if demanding is the right word. Motivating. Motivating is probably the better word. He really brings that level to the guys, and they've been playing accordingly. I thought the wide receivers, the level of effort from the receivers this last game was incredible, so I think Chad's responsible for that.
Q: Can you see some of his military background from the Academy in his coaching?
JOHN HARBAUGH: I'd say so. Leadership-wise, he's got a lot of good ideas as far as leadership and the way he motivates guys and his value system. I'd say he's in line with that, yet he's still got that personality. He's almost a beach guy personality, too, at the same time. It's an interesting combination.
Q: It's definitely not a military haircut.
JOHN HARBAUGH: He probably is making up for all the lost time, right?
Q: John, how much more, for Paulson, when he comes back, how much more do you need out of him than what he showed you in training camp and in Week 1?
JOHN HARBAUGH: All we ever need out of anybody is just your best. Get out there and compete your best. He's fully capable of playing at a high level. I do think he's had some nagging things that have been bothering him or slowing him down just a little bit through camp and all that. So, hopefully he'll come back and kind of get through some of this stuff and play at a really high level. I mean, he's a top-level corner, so you want him playing at a top level. That would be the goal, for sure. That would be the idea. I'm sure that's what he'll be shooting for. That's how he sees himself, too.
Q: Does he need a clean-up procedure or anything done?
JOHN HARBAUGH: No, I don't believe so. I don't believe so. I would say no to that right now, but don't hold me to it.
Q: How close do you think Malik (Nabers) is to being able to handle a full workload? Obviously, last week was his first game back, but physically-wise, where he's at in that regard?
JOHN HARBAUGH: Great question. It's a question we're asking ourselves, in all honesty. I think it comes back to what he's capable of handling. He had a good workload today again, so as he's ramping up his volume in practice, which would be bringing him closer to that kind of mindset in the games, we'll see as we get through the games. He looks strong. He does.
Q: How's Sisi (offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa)? He had the stinger, I don't know if this is related to that. Where is he at?
JOHN HARBAUGH: Yeah, he practiced today. He was out there the whole practice today.
Q: Same with (offensive lineman) Andrew Thomas?
JOHN HARBAUGH: AT (Thomas). Yeah, AT was out there today. AT was more of kind of just be careful with the ankle. Give him some rest.
Q: John, Jaxson (Dart) talked after the game the other night about how during the week, the prep, as much as the coaches put into it that the players on their own in meeting rooms watching film, I think he said at one point he walked down the hallway, saw all the DB's and (inside linebacker) Tremaine (Edmunds) in watching film. How much ownership has to be taken by the players when they're away from your schedule of instruction, I guess, so to speak?
JOHN HARBAUGH: It's a point that you couldn't make strongly enough, I don't think. It's the players' team. It's always the players' team. The players are always the ones out there making the plays. They're the ones playing the game. They come out of the tunnel for a reason. They're the ones that are going to be out there in the battle, so to speak, the football battle. And for them to take ownership, as you're saying, is really the most important thing because they're the guys out there that have to do it together. So, the fact that they're in there, even on their own, talking through the plays, talking through the checks, getting on the same page, to me that's really, really, a valuable thing. I couldn't put a big enough price tag on it. It's really great.
Q: John, I'm sure your antenna are up every week to see the whole team and everything. But in your experience, coming after a win, especially opening day, which is the only game, what did you want to see out of these guys these days? And what have you seen as far as not feeling great about themselves, but feeling good about all that stuff?
JOHN HARBAUGH: Right, yeah. To me, it's in the work. It's whether you do something. It's what you do that matters. They've come to work. They were locked in Tuesday, starting Tuesday, and they've been locked in all week. Two excellent practices. Like you said, the meetings that Art's talking about, to me, that's what I look at. I just want to see good football, and that's what we've seen this week. So, we've got to take it out there Monday night against an excellent football team. Some people rank them as the top team in the NFL coming into the season. And they've got a bur in their saddle right now probably, after the first game. So, I figured you guys would like that old Western reference right there, the bur in the saddle. You've heard that one before? You're a young guy. You know where it's from? I'm not sure where it's from, but we've always heard that growing up, huh? Sometimes we all have a bur under our saddle, right? (Laughter).
Q: What are you expecting from the atmosphere there at the stadium. Sometimes, it's a big city, a lot of different mix of people, where the opposing team's fans do come in there. What are you expecting?
JOHN HARBAUGH: I don't know. I don't know what to expect. I haven't really thought about it, honestly. But Giants fans, we've got a huge fan base, and they travel everywhere, and they're all over the country. They're probably all over the world. So, I'd like to see a few of them there, that'd be great.
